Page 67 of Cherishing Happily Ever After

“Oh, never forget,” he teased. “We’re a house and we’re strong. Besides, no matter what life brings us, or where your career takes you, we have this.” He waved his arm to encompass not only Lynx Creek, but the property on the other side of the river. “This is home. No matter where we wander, we’ll come home to this. And each other.”

He spun her in his arms.

“To each other,” she repeated. “Forever.”

She kissed him gently.

“You know what?”

He tipped his head in question. “What’s that?”

“Of all the love stories ever written, ours is my favorite.”

“Mine too.” Travis kissed her. “Our very own happily ever after.”

Epilogue

The air washeavy and thick with the heat of the day and the heady scent of late-blooming lilacs when Travis opened the door of his truck and helped Stephanie out. Tinker Bell, who’d grown more than Travis had expected, and still had more growing to do, jumped out of the truck behind Steph and took off in the grass to chase a squirrel. He wasn’t worried about the dog; she’d been there with him almost every day since the work had started. She knew her way around.

But not Steph. Travis had wanted to keep the building site a surprise for her until there was something of substance to show her. That, combined with his new wife’s busy schedule with the upcoming release ofBombshell, had proved to be difficult when it came time to arranging the perfect opportunity to show her what he’d been up to.

But the wait would absolutely be worth it.

“Can I take this off now?” Stephanie reached up to the blindfold Travis had wrapped around her head before he’d helped her into the truck. “I’m dying here, Trav. Let me see.”

He smiled and pressed a gentle kiss to her lips. “You’ll be okay,” he said lightly. “Just a few more minutes, I promise.”

She shook her head, but didn’t protest as he led her carefully through the rocks and grass until he had her in the perfect spot. “Okay,” he said as his hands traveled to the knot of the blindfold. “Now…” The fabric slipped away and exposed what he’d been hiding.

Stephanie gasped and put a hand to her mouth. “Oh, Travis…it’s…”

He laughed at her lack of words because for most people, there was really nothing much to see at all. “Do you like it?”

She turned to him then with a shrug. “I think I like it,” she said honestly. “But I’m not really sure what I’m looking at.”

He took her hand in his and squeezed. “Come on, I’ll show you.”

They stepped toward the cement foundation that had been poured only the week before. “This is the front door,” he explained as they approached what would be the entrance to their home. After their wedding, Stephanie and Travis had talked at length about their next steps. Although they loved the little cabin, and it would always have a special place in their hearts, it was never intended to be Stephanie’s forever home. And with Travis planning to build his own home on the other side of the river, it just made sense for them to reconsider everything and redesign the plans into a home for both of them.

Travis had convinced Stephanie to let him take the lead on the design process and to his surprise, his strong-willed wife had graciously handed him the reins. It was a project he’d taken very seriously and one he was extremely excited to see come to life.

He helped her carefully over what would be the threshold into the entryway of their home and slowly and patiently escorted her through the space, pointing out what would be the bedrooms, the living room, and huge kitchen that overlooked the river.

“And there, through the trees,” Travis said with his hand extended. “You can see our cabin on the other side of the river.” He slipped his arm over her shoulders and held her close as she looked for herself. “We’ll have a big oversized covered porch here,” he continued. “So we can sit out in the evenings and survey all that’s important to us.”

He’d given the layout of the house a lot of thought, and although it was completely different from what he’d originally intended to build for himself, this new design was perfect. Because it wasn’t about just him anymore. It was about StephanieandTravis. And the children they planned to raise there. And that was far more important than whatever it was he thought he’d wanted before.

“This is all so perfect, Travis.” Steph’s voice broke, and she quickly looked away.

But Travis wasn’t going to let her do that. There was no hiding their feelings from each other. Never again. He wrapped an arm around her and she spun so she was pressed up against his chest. She pressed her face to his shirt and slipped her arms around him while she took her moment.

Finally, he asked, “Is it okay?”

She looked up. Tears still shone in her eyes, the trail of the tears down her cheek. “It’s more than okay, Travis. It’s…you’ve thought of everything. I…” She laughed a little. “Honestly, I don’t know what I expected, but this is beyond anything.”

“And just think,” he chuckled, “if you’re impressed now, wait until we get some walls up and you can really see it take shape.”

“I can hardly wait,” she said. “Just like I can hardly wait to build our life here together.”

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